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ARTICLE · 06 AUGUST 2010

FLSA Update: Clothes-Changing Exception Does Not Apply to Protective Gear

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
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On June 16, 2010, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued one if its newly-introduced "Administrator Interpretations" to provide guidance on whether protective gear counts as "clothes" under Section 203(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

United StatesEmployment and HR
Stephanie Cebulski
Stephanie Cebulski

On June 16, 2010, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued one if its newly-introduced "Administrator Interpretations" to provide guidance on whether protective gear counts as "clothes" under Section 203(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). (FLSA 2010-2) The "Administrator Interpretation" is a vehicle the Wage & Hour Administrator is now utilizing to make broad pronouncements about its interpretation of various legal issues.

Under Section 203(o) of the FLSA, time spent "changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday" is excluded from compensable time if it is excluded by custom or practice under a collective bargaining agreement. According to DOL's latest Administrator's Interpretation, protective clothing and equipment is not considered "clothes" under this exception, and therefore unionized employees must be paid for time spent putting on and taking off such equipment.

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